Mass Cuttings: How to manage them all?

16 years ago

Hi, all. I have utter confidence that some of you all can give me advice on a project I have jumped into. Our church is planning to build a new building in about three years, and I have volunteered to provide all the landscape plants for the new building. I figure 150 to 200 plants is what we'll need. I am well along in getting the cuttings rooted. That's not a problem. What I am trying to figure out is what I do with them next. Here's what I am thinking, PLEASE tell me if there's a better way, faster way, etc.

I am starting all the cuttings in quart containers. As the roots fill those up, I plan to pot them up into three gallon nursery pots. At that point, I have a large island bed in my lower back that has been mulched well, but never planted. It gets sun for about 4 hours a day (morning) and shade the rest of the day. It gets water from my irrigation system. I was thinking I would pack it full of the three gallon pots, then fill the gaps between and around the pots with leaves and/or pine straw in the hopes that I can keep them from drying out so fast in our hot summers, and to give them protection from any sudden hard feezes we get in the winter.

I have been using a high quality potting soil, but can see that that's going to get expensive in a hurry. Any ideas for a good alternative, or should I just find a way to pay for the soil? I have never done this before, and am merely guessing as to the amount of time it will take for the plants to go from cutting to planting size. Here are the plants I am working with:

Raphiolepsis (Indian Hawthorn)

Korean Boxwood

Azaleas

Yaupon hollies

Dwarf burfordii hollies.

Also, I plan to put osmocote in the big pots at the time I plant, but how often should I replenish that as time goes by?

Thanks for any ideas and input!

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Comments (4)

inthegarden_k
16 years ago
well, how about telling us how you rooted the cuttings? that sounds like fun!

i think that for a few years of nursing the plants along i would consider digging down into your holding space so that the tops of the pots are at ground level. i think you would get more insulation from the ground that way, some protection from wind, and the leaves might stay put better. the irrigation system will help the cuttings develop.

i don't know if that location will provide enough sun for all your plants. i thought, for example, that indian hawthorne needed more sun than what you describe (but for young plants that may be perfect).

i would skip the osmocote. maybe make some manure tea and water with that.

when i move rooted cuttings to a larger pot i often put a shovel full of compost in the bottom of the big pot. works for me.
good luck! 300 plants is quite an undertaking!
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
16 years ago
Three hundred plants is not too much for you to prepare. The soil I would get from a landscape supply in bulk, like the nurseries do. It is better drained and will hold up better in the pots. I agree that the 3 gallon pots would be better dug into the garden. The osmocote is a good idea as a well drained soiless mix is lacking in nutrient value. When you put the pots in the garden be sure to leave plenty of room between them, or risk mildew or probable distorted growth. You will enjoy your project but may find the pots may have to be moved around the area to even the growth. Al
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
16 years ago
I'd like to see if you can get a nursery to donate (or sell at cost) a load of their bark based nursery mix. That would be much more suitable for your woody plants than a standard peat based potting medium. Contact wholesale growers of nursery stock for some ideas.

Don't transplant them into the three gallon containers too soon. Growers usually move them up from the 1 gallon size. Keeping them close together is fine until their foliage begins to touch and then they need some space.

You can make a little temporary 'hoop house' for winter care. PVC ribs can be used to create a support just wide enough and tall enough to cover the block of plants. Upon the threat of a bad freeze, you can cover it with plastic and maybe even run some Xmas lights inside for a touch of heat.
Donna
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for your replies! Further questions. I'm curious how bark-based soil mixes are superior. I hear alot about them. Do they have more nutrients than potting mix, or are they better drained or cheaper or what? That's a good idea to check about buying a truckload. I will definitely check into that.
Also, I've read on threads before the caution to not move plants up to bigger containers too fast. Why? I mean, when we move them into the ground, they're in the ultimate large container, it seems to me. I'm not arguing, mind you, just really curious. I was thinking to go straight to the 3 gallon size to save the time and trouble of the intermediate pot size.
Sinking the pots into the ground is a good idea. I do that with invasive perennials all the time. Don't know why I didn't think of it myself. (Many heads are better than one.)
As for how I'm starting the cuttings, first, I have chosen plants that are notoriously easy to root. :)
I fill the quart sized pots with potting soil, pack it in real tight, use a skewer to make a hole in it, take the cuttings, trim the lower leaves off them, dip them in rooting powder, stick them in the holes I made with the skewer, then water thoroughly, drain thoroughly and put them in upside down clear rubbermaid storage boxes. I put them in the shade, and it usually takes about a month or so for them to show top growth. I got the rubbermaid box idea from Fine Gardening magazine and it works like a charm. Once you put the cuttings in there you rarely have to do anything else to them until they are ready to come out. By starting with smaller container, I can put more than a dozen under each box, and they are stackable.

Timing seems to be everything. Broad-leaved evergreens in mid summer, deciduous stuff in the winter, with some exceptions to both rules. Ken Druse's book "Making More Plants" is a great resource. There's a really good list of plants with all the pertinent facts for each in the back of the book. Invaluable!

Mass Cuttings: How to manage them all?

Comments (4)

inthegarden_k

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9

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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

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Mass Cuttings: How to manage them all?

Comments (4)

inthegarden_k

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9

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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

DonnaOriginal Author

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Donna
Original Author